Robbers took away Rs 5.75 crore, belonging to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The boxes of money were being transported on Egmore Express Train from Salem to Chennai on Monday (August 8) night.

Robbers gained entry in the train, by cutting 2×2 feet hole on the roof of one of the coaches where boxes containing the currency were kept. The currencies were kept in 226 boxes.

The theft was detected several hours after the train that left Salem on Monday night arrived in Chennai early on Tuesday around 11 a.m. when workers entered the coach after the seal of the compartment was opened by RBI officials in the presence of police personnel. Currency kept in four boxes was found stolen.

The Railway Protection Force registered a case and launched a massive investigation with the assistance of the Tamil Nadu police.

The Government Railway Police sent multiple teams to stations where the train had stopped during the seven-hour journey. Investigators have no clue as to where or how the theft took place.

But how did they do it? Did they cut in or cut out?

“In case the suspects drilled a hole while the train was on the move, it would have happened between Salem and Vriddhachalam, a distance of 138 km, where there is no electrification of rail lines. It is also possible that they managed to enter into the cash-laden coach before it was sealed for departure and used gas cutters to escape. We are probing all angles…surveillance camera footage recorded in Salem and Chennai Egmore railway stations are being perused,” said a top police officer.

When questioned how the hole drilled on the roof of the train had escaped the attention of the police, the officer said police inspected the seal affixed on the door of the coach at every stoppage and they usually don’t check the roof since it is a solidly-built train.

V.Ramasubramani, Inspector General of Police, Government Railway Police, said four boxes had been forced open. While one box was emptied, half of the cash in another was taken. The thieves had also picked some notes from the other boxes that had currency notes of lower denomination.

(Prepared from media sources by Seema Kumari)

  Chennai, crime